Over the last 3 years, we've partnered with Bicycle Network to deliver Australia’s first Open Streets trials at 9 of our Ride & Stride schools.

The trials are held 1 day a week for 3 weeks and restrict car traffic in a short section of the street outside school gates at drop-off and pick-up times. This opens the space for kids to walk, ride and scoot to school safely, and creates calmer and quieter streets for local residents.

Across the trials, we’ve held 31 Open Streets days with great results:

• An average of 70% of students walking or riding to school
• 94.5% of parents felt the street was safer for their child
• 92% of families wanted to see more regular Open Streets at their school.

Now, parents are taking the trials to the next level by running their own regular events to create healthier, happier streets outside schools.

Volunteer-led Open Streets are run by parent volunteers. Parents can nominate days over the year they wish to run the event, and attend a brief Council traffic management training session. On the days of the events, volunteers set out the signage, and the Open Street begins!

We now have 4 Merri-bek schools who run Open Streets monthly or each term, with more interested in getting started.

We’re seeing a lot of joy, and happy and active children each morning and afternoon outside our schools with 67% of students riding or walking to school.

If you’d like to see your child’s school join the fun, have a chat with their Principal about signing up to be part of Ride & Stride.

Want to learn more about how we’re acting with the community for a safe climate? Visit our Zero Carbon Merri-bek website.